Save My Heart
by The Last Letter
Summary: Tucker Foley has been in love with Jazz Fenton for as long as he can remember. Tucker struggles to find his nerve to make a move on her, regardless of the consequences. However, when those consequences may be losing Jazz forever, both Jazz and Tucker have some choices to make.
1. Chapter 1

_I want what I can't have_

_I wanna make you mine_

_I don't care what it takes_

He doesn't know what started it.

Actually, that's a lie. Tucker Foley damn well knew the exact moment he realized that he fell in love with Jazz Fenton. Now, it's years later and he's still stuck on the same pretty girl. It's hard to be in love with someone who is not only older and more mature, but also the older sister of your best friend.

There had been many times over the years that Tucker had to physically bite his tongue around Danny and Sam. They had pestered him about girls and crushes, but Tucker couldn't tell them about the girl who'd held his attention since he was eleven years old. He couldn't describe how he felt when he was over at Danny's, losing at video games because he was more distracted by the fact that Jazz is walking by.

Over the years, Tucker got into a habit of lying. He'd pretend that he was a ladies man, keeping himself open and available to everyone who looked his way. Even though he's nearly seventeen now, he still hasn't dated anyone. He's had a date or two, of course, but it never ended in anything because it wasn't the right girl. He knew that he was lovesick; he knew that he was hopeless.

He didn't know who to turn to. He couldn't talk to Danny, because Danny would beat him up for thinking about his sister. He couldn't talk to Sam, because Sam would laugh him off the face of the Earth for falling for Jazz. He knew that Jazz was so out of his league; so astronomically outside of who he was expected to date. It didn't make sense for him to want a girl like Jazz, but he did.

He liked everything about Jazz. He liked how smart she was, and how witty. He admired her strength and her courage. She was a woman to idolize that was for sure. Yet, before she was this woman, back when she had still been an annoying little girl, she had still captured Tucker's attention. He knew that she was something else, straight from the get-go. She had been the first girl he noticed, way before he'd gotten into the habit of noticing girls.

He often thought he should say something to her, even if it was to get his emotions off his chest. He was incredibly scared of saying such personal things to Jazz, though. It wasn't because they weren't close, because they were. They were much closer than his preteen-self had ever imagined them being, and it was all due to Danny. He and Jazz were both part of Team Phantom, causing them to interact. At first it was about team things, and then it escalated, slightly. Now, all they did was text each other lame jokes and pictures, but it was enough to make Tucker's heart race every time her name popped up on his phone, like it was doing just now.

**Jazz: What's brown and sticky?**

** Jazz: A stick!**

Tucker grinned, and responded with:

**Tucker: Why do fish live in saltwater?**

** Tucker: Because pepper makes them sneeze!**

She was amazing.

And he was going to tell her just what he thought of her. He had to, before he exploded.

_I'm fearless with my heart_

_I'll take it any place_

_I don't care if it breaks_

Jazz stretched out, rolling her neck to the side. Tucker couldn't keep his eyes off her exposed neck as she did so, wondering what it would feel like to kiss her right there, on that very spot.

"This has got to be the dumbest thing Danny has _ever_ had us do," Jazz stressed, trying to stretch her legs, although she hit her knee off the steering wheel.

"I think he's got a valid point," Tucker claimed.

He hated being cooped up in the car as much as she did, but he liked having endless hours ahead of them. They were watching a building, trying to ascertain whether or not there was a ghost in there. Danny had noted a new spectre around town; one that wasn't happy with causing the general mischief like the other ghosts did – this one was hurting people. Danny was watching another part of town, with Sam. Though Tucker sometimes got annoyed at being the third wheel ever since Danny and Sam had begun their relationship, in moments like this, he didn't mind at all. Danny wanted to be with Sam, and thus Tucker was with Jazz because Danny trusted Tucker with Jazz.

He wondered if Danny would feel the same way, had Tucker been honest with his friend.

"I get the whole protecting people angle, I do. I just don't know if sitting in a car watching the same building for … holy, it's been four hours! Anyway, I just don't know if that's the best use of our time."

"Well, what else would you be doing on a Saturday night?" Tucker teased.

"You know me," Jazz replied sarcastically, "I'd be out partying and getting drunk, like all responsible nineteen year olds."

Tucker laughed.

"What would you be doing?" Jazz pressed him. "Hanging out with Danny and Sam?"

"I'd be out with the ladies," Tucker responded, "They all know that 'TF' stands for 'Too Fine'. I'd have girls all over me."

He didn't know why he was telling this to Jazz, it didn't seem logical. Perhaps he wanted to see a flash of jealousy in her aqua eyes, something that would have told him that she cared if there was another woman in his life. He wanted her to give some indication that she wanted him, in any capacity. Yet, she wasn't even looking at him while he was speaking; she was slipping her shoes on.

"Let's go for a walk," Jazz proposed.

"Do you think it's safe?" Tucker responded. They were supposed to be watching for a dangerous ghost. Despite the fact that they were both armed with weapons and years of experience fighting ghosts, he didn't want to do anything that would leave them vulnerable.

"Oh, come on," Jazz pleaded, making him give in immediately. "We've been sitting here for hours, with no sign of anything. A quick trip around the block isn't going to hurt us."

"Won't hurt you," Tucker replied, laughing, as he opened his car door. "I'm too lazy; any movement at all will likely to kill me."

"Well, don't make me a murderer," Jazz said as they began to walk.

"I'll try," Tucker responded, wondering what it would be like to take her hand.

_I wanna tell you things_

_I never tell myself_

_These secrets hurt like hell, oh_

Halfway around the block, Jazz began to shiver. Tucker noticed the moment she started, though she was trying to hide this tiny weakness; as though it was too much for her to admit being cold.

"Here," he said, tugging his Casper High sweatshirt over his head.

"Oh, no," Jazz protested. "You don't need to. We're almost back to the car and won't you be cold?"

"Nope," Tucker assured her. "I'm so hot, my good looks will keep me warm."

Jazz laughed and clenched her fingers around the sweatshirt. The warmth of it was too tempting, and she quickly pulled in on. Tucker was overwhelmed by how lovely she looked, dwarfed by his sweatshirt. He wanted to see her wearing his clothes more often.

"Thank you," Jazz murmured, looking at him. "It's my own fault for not bringing my jacket."

"Oh, don't even worry about it," Tucker dismissed her again, reaching over and squeezing her around the shoulders in a gesture of familiarity.

Jazz leaned her head back, resting her neck against his arm. "You're sweet," she told him.

Tucker didn't think too much on his next actions. All he knew was that she was so close to him, under his arm, and she was leaning toward him while in that position. He was only aware of how close her lips were and how beautiful she looked in his sweater, her hair all messed up from pulling it over her head. So, he rolled her toward him, and bent his head, taking her lips with his.

It was the best damn kiss that he'd ever had.

He'd only kissed two other girls before. One of them he'd only kissed once, but he knew that it didn't get any better than the way Jazz Fenton's lips felt, or the way that he felt when she pressed into him, putting her hand on the back of his neck and pulling him closer. All he'd ever wanted to be to her was closer.

Now, on a chilly street in the early morning hours, it was coming true.

_Call me crazy, maybe I'm insanely_

_Out of my mind but it'll never phase me_

_If I have to, I'm not afraid to_

_Save my heart for you_

He was kissing her.

Tucker Foley was actually kissing her. The same Tucker Foley who had grown up with her little brother; who was an immature high schooler. The same Tucker Foley who had annoyed her ever since Danny had dragged him home, over a decade ago. This was the Tucker Foley who had somehow grown into a friend, who laughed at the same dumb things she did. This was the Tucker Foley she'd recently discovered was attractive, and hadn't known what to do about it, whatsoever.

Now that his lips were on hers (and how good they felt, resting there!), Jazz still didn't know what to do about it. She was a woman who prided herself on always having the answer; of always knowing what was going on. In this situation, she didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't know what the right reaction was.

So she pulled away.

Immediately, he said her name, "Jazz."

"Let's pretend it didn't happen," Jazz proposed immediately, surprising even herself with the words.

"What?"

She didn't like to see him look so hurt. She hadn't meant to do this to him. She liked Tucker; he was a great boy. But she hadn't had the slightest inkling, before now, that he liked her as anything more than a friend. She hadn't seen any hint that he saw her as something other than Danny's older sister.

"It wouldn't be right," Jazz explained. "We wouldn't work."

"You won't even give me a chance?" Tucker pressed. "Jazz, look, it's –"

Jazz shook her head, stopping him before he could explain anything. She knew an explanation of his feelings would only enflame the hurt that was being to spread over her heart. She couldn't explain the sad, aching feeling that she was experiencing but she knew that hearing Tucker's feelings would only make it worse. She didn't want to make it worse.

They stood there in the street, staring at one another until Jazz's phone began to ring.

_"It's your little brother,_

_ "Your annoying little brother,_

_ "It's your stupid little brother,_

_ "Trying to reach you on the phone!"_

Jazz pulled it out of her jeans pocket, having to shift Tucker's long sweatshirt out of the way in order to reach it.

"Hi Danny," she answered. "No, we haven't seen anything … Time to pack it in? …. Okay. I'll just drop Tucker off and then I'll be home."

She exited out of the call screen and looked at Tucker. "It's time to go back."

Tucker nodded. "After you," he said, gesturing back toward the car.

They finished their walk in eerie silence, although the drive back to Tucker's was worse in terms of awkwardness. Jazz parked in his driveway and thought that she had to say something.

"Tuck, it's not about –"

This time it was Tucker's turn to shake his head.

"It's okay, Jazz. You don't have to."

He got out of the car.

Jazz kept his sweatshirt.

_Tell me I'm wrong_

_Turn around and run_

_Still I'm gonna save my heart for you_

"So, are you okay?" Sam asked.

It was lunch. Danny was busy writing a test he'd missed last week, so it was just the two of them. Sam was far more perceptive than her other half, and had been hinting at the fact that she'd felt something off about him for the past few days. Tucker had hoped that she wouldn't ask. She hadn't, in front of Danny, but now that they were alone … Well, Tucker couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming.

"Yeah," Tucker brushed it off, hoping she would do the same. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been off," Sam said slowly. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Danny because, I don't know, boys are weird and he doesn't think you've been weird. Do you need to talk about something?"

Tucker sighed. He did need to talk to someone and he didn't really have anyone who understood. He'd never told anyone how he felt about Jazz; he had no one to turn to, no one to talk to about how she'd rejected him and how much it hurt that she'd done so.

"Kind of …" He ran a hand along his short hair. "Look, there's this girl and I've been in love with her for as long as I can remember and –"

"Hold the phone for just a second. For as long as you can remember? And you've never talked to us about her?"

Tucker could only shrug. "I _couldn't_, Sam."

"Why not? And how can you be in love with her? I know the girls you talk to and there's no one that you could be in love with. The only girl you talk to on a regular basis is me."

"Not just you."

Sam studied him for a moment, and then her eyes went wide. "Oh, Tuck. Not Jazz."

"Jazz," Tucker repeated, savouring the name.

"And that's why you didn't talk to us, because she's Danny's sister."

Tucker nodded.

"I've cared about her for so long. I didn't want to say anything, especially when she and I began to get close, because I didn't want to ruin that. But, the other night, when we were seeing if that ghost would pop up, I kissed her."

"No!" Sam gasped. "What did she do?"

"She said it wasn't right," Tucker revealed.

"And that's all she said?"

"I didn't want to listen to her say anything else. She told me all that I needed to hear; that she wasn't interested."

"And you're just giving up on her?"

"What else am I supposed to do? I don't want to make her uncomfortable. I want her in my life, even if it's not a romantic way."

"I wasn't suggesting you make her uncomfortable. I'm saying that, I can understand why Jazz might not have the best reaction when you kissed her. She might not have ever thought of you in that way because you are younger and you are the best friend of her little brother. Maybe you shouldn't give up on her. Be a little flirty, that kind of thing. Don't stop being her friend; remind her that you do care for her beyond that. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Tucker frowned. He thought he did, but it sounded as though it might get on Jazz's nerves. He hadn't spoken to her since their encounter and he was worried that by 'being a little flirty' he would drive her further away. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Your feelings are valid Tuck. But so are hers. I just think you need to talk to one another more rather than just giving up on everything."

Tucker nodded. _That__,_ he could understand.

**This little fic will be three chapters in total. The song is **_**Save My Heart**_** by Jason Reeves. Thanks to my betas: Forever Sky!**

**~TLL~**


	2. Chapter 2

_I know you want me too_

_Even if it's not now_

_I'm gonna wait it out_

The scene was familiar.

Tucker was in the Fenton's kitchen, preparing nachos while Danny was upstairs, setting up the gaming console. He'd just slid the tray into the oven when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hi Jazz," he greeted, before he even turned around.

"Hi," she answered, sliding into his field of vision.

"Am I in your way?" Tucker asked. This was awkward; too awkward. He and Jazz had never acted like this around one another, not even when she was Danny's bratty sister and he was Danny's immature friend.

"No." Jazz twirled a piece of long hair around her finger. "I … I wanted to talk to you."

"I think that's a good idea," Tucker agreed, remembering what Sam had said. He had things that he had to say to her.

"I don't want you to vanish and I don't want it to be weird. I like you being around, but as a friend. I don't … I don't feel anything else for you, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for that. I can't help how you feel but I can't help how I feel either. I like being there for you and I like being in your life. I don't want to lose our friendship but I can't … I can't pretend that I don't feel something for you."

Jazz studied him. "So what is it that you want?"

He wanted her wrapped in his arms. He wanted her to love him too.

"I want us to stay friends. If that's what you're offering, that's what I'll take. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Jazz smiled at him. "You don't make me uncomfortable."

"Good." Tucker grinned at her.

The oven beeped, telling him that the nachos were done. He pulled the nachos out of the oven and turned to leave the kitchen, back upstairs to where Danny was probably ready to play video games. In the doorway, he turned to look at Jazz.

"By the way, you have some snoo on your shoulder."

Jazz looked at him, alarmed, craning her neck to view her shoulders. "What's snoo?" She cried.

Tucker laughed. "Nothin', baby, what's new with you?"

Jazz giggled. "Get going," she encouraged, brandishing a spatula at him, "before I do something."

"I'm going, I'm going."

_But don't you dare forget_

_That moment that we had_

_I know we both felt it_

Jazz quickly collected the drink of water she had come downstairs for and then traced Tucker's path up the stairs. She could hear him and Danny, laughing over the sound of explosions. She found herself smiling at the sound of Tucker's voice, before she remembered herself.

She returned to her room, flicking on her stereo to cover the boys' shrieks of laughter. She stood in the middle of her room for a moment, letting the music wash over everything, to make sure that she could no longer hear them. Once she was sure she couldn't, she didn't know what to do with herself.

She'd said the right thing. She knew that she had. She and Tucker wouldn't work as anything other than friends. There was no use in trying to destroy the relationship they had, especially if it would only end in a break-up.

She had to have faith that she'd made the right decision.

However, that didn't stop her from turning off her music, so she could hear his voice, and from putting on the _Casper High_ sweatshirt she had no intention of giving back.

_I wanna tell you things_

_I never tell myself_

_These secrets hurt like hell, oh_

She only had time to stop at home for a minute. That was actually a lie; she didn't have time to stop at home, period, but she had to. One of the clubs she'd joined at university was having its first meeting today. Jazz was supposed to be bringing some of her psychology books to the meeting, but she'd forgotten them. She'd turned around in a rush, as she'd rather be ten minutes late than show up without her material.

She parked in her driveway, diving for the front door. She cursed the time it took to unlock it – Danny had disappeared somewhere, likely with Sam, and her parents were gone for a weekend getaway, so her usually accessible door was proving to be a chore to get open. She tossed it open, and was about to run to her room, when she realized that Tucker was sitting in her living room.

"Are you okay?" She blurted. He looked terrible, and he looked like he had been crying.

"Do you know where Danny is?" Tucker asked. "I've tried calling but he's not answering and neither is Sam. They're probably together but I can't find either of them."

Jazz went and sat next to him on the couch. "No, but it's okay, I'm here. What's going on?"

"My mom …" Tucker took a shuddering breath, tears leaking down his cheeks. "They found cancer, and apparently it's advancing. What if … what if …"

"Shh," Jazz soothed, pulling him into a hug, even though he was much larger than she was. "Don't think about 'what if'. The doctors found it. You know how advanced medical technology is getting. Your mom's going to be okay."

"I can't help but think about the alternative," Tucker admitted. "I can't lose her."

"You won't," Jazz assured him, holding him closer. "It's scary, I know, but I know your mom. She's a fighter. She loves her life and I'd bet everything I have that she's going to keep it."

Tucker didn't say anything and Jazz had run out of words, something that didn't happen to her often. She knew, though, that Tucker didn't need an onslaught of words right now. Instead, she held him, rocking gently back and forth, trying to be everything that he needed.

_Call me crazy, maybe I'm insanely_

_Out of my mind but it'll never phase me_

_If I have to, I'm not afraid to_

_Save my heart for you_

Tucker woke up stiff. He felt as though he'd been stuffed inside of a very small space and left there for several hours, which wasn't inaccurate. He'd fallen asleep on the couch in the Fenton's living room. He didn't fit on the couch properly when it was just him, but he had Jazz with him. She was tucked into him, one leg over his thigh, the other running along his legs. Her hair was tickling his nose and she was wheezing as she slept.

If it was anyone else, it would have been annoying. With Jazz, it was endearing. He rested his head on the top of hers. He didn't know what he would have done, had she not been there for him last night. His mother's diagnosis, delivered over the dinner table last night, was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to sit through. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling. He could be strong for his mother later, when he finally went home. Right now, he was glad that he had Jazz for support.

"Tucker," Jazz yawned, surprising him with her muffled voice. "You're squishing me."

Tucker immediately pushed himself back into the couch as far as he could, giving Jazz enough to twist onto her back a little more than she already had been.

"How are you?" Jazz wondered, unable to keep herself from toying with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"I'll be okay. It's not me who's going through everything."

"You don't have to be strong all the time. It'll only make you feel pressured. I'm here when you need to talk, okay? Because you are dealing with something and it is scary. I'm not going to blame you for needing to vent or anything."

Tucker's heart swelled.

"Thank you," he murmured, hugging her.

_I'm a rebel even if it's trouble_

_I'ma pull you out from the rubble_

_If I have to, I'm not afraid to_

_Save my heart for you_

Jazz had met Duncan in September. He was a transfer to her university and she'd been assigned to show him around. There had been something special between them and when he'd asked her out for coffee, she had said yes. She liked how he tried to get along with Danny, though her little brother could be absolutely incorrigible when it came to her romances, and Danny could be intimidating to people now that he was publicly known as Phantom. She liked how he would help out Maddie and Jack with their insane experiments, even though Duncan didn't understand what they were doing half the time. She liked how he never, not once, questioned her intentions with Tucker; how he understood that Tucker needed her. Whenever she told him that she was going to visit Tucker and his mom – who was now in the hospital more than she was out of it – Duncan always told her to wish Tucker well.

In short, their relationship had been fantastic and, since it was only December, they should still be firmly locked in the honeymoon phase. With Christmas coming up, Jazz should be delighting in the fact that she had someone wonderful to kiss underneath the mistletoe this year.

That wasn't how it was going.

Instead of falling for Duncan further, Jazz was coming to realize that she didn't want to be in this relationship. There was nothing wrong with Duncan. Matter of fact, he was pretty damn perfect for her. He didn't laugh at the fact that she was a perfectionist because he nearly surpassed her in that field. He liked to rub her feet when she was doing her homework and, right after their first coffee date, he'd memorized her extremely chaotic, high-maintenance coffee order. Her friends found him adorable; her family thought he was charming. He was everything that Jazz thought she wanted.

She broke up with him a week before Christmas.

And now, here she was, an hour after it happened, explaining her choice to her mother.

"I'll admit I don't understand," Maddie sighed.

"Understand what?" Danny demanded, stomping into the kitchen, Sam and Tucker trailing in his wake.

"Jazz broke it off with Duncan," Maddie answered, bustling around her son as he stretched into the kitchen.

"Good. He wasn't right for you," Danny said into the fridge. "Soda? Sam, Tuck, anyone?"

"Sure," Sam replied. "Why'd you do it, Jazz?"

"It just wasn't something I wanted," Jazz repeated what she had told her mother minutes before. "It wasn't him and it wasn't the relationship. It's just not what I wanted a relationship to be."

Sam smiled and Jazz watched the other girl glance at Tucker.

"Well, good for you, doing what you wanted." Sam applauded.

"Thanks," Jazz murmured, trying not to look at Tucker, knowing that he was looking at her.

_Tell me I'm wrong_

_Turn around and run_

_Still I'm gonna save my heart for you_

_Oh oh_

_Oh oh_

Later that night, Tucker came downstairs to the living room. Jazz immediately made a space for him on the couch, next to her. He sank into it and let out a sigh.

"They were getting touchy," he explained to her, though she hadn't asked. "I don't care that they're in a relationship, it's still fun to tease them about, but they really don't need to act like it in front of me."

Jazz shrugged. "Always room down here."

"What're we watching, anyway?"

"_A Walk To Remember__._"

"Really? A chick flick?" Tucker groaned.

"Hey!" Jazz exclaimed, swatting him in the chest. "I was here first! And, besides, it's customary to watch cute romantic movies after a break-up."

"Customary?" Tucker repeated.

"Most of my friends do it. I don't know why. I'd still be watching this movie even if I hadn't broken up with Duncan."

Tucker paused, wondering if he should ask, but then when ahead with it anyway. "Why did you do it?"

Jazz looked at him for a brief moment before looking away.

"I told you all earlier," she mumbled, knowing that she couldn't possibly tell him the truth.

She'd done it for him.

She had broken up with that nice, sweet boy for the one next to her. A lot had changed within her, since Tucker had kissed her late in the summer. When he'd first done it, she'd been shocked. Jazz had known Tucker was attractive – anything with a brain could see that – but he was Danny's best friend; he was still just a kid in high school. Sure they were friends, he made her laugh, and he was sweet, but Jazz had never thought of him in a romantic sense before then. She'd had several months to confront her feelings and to figure them out.

Now she knew what was going on.

She cared for Tucker Foley. She cared for him deeply.

She wanted to kiss him again.

It was scary, though, to say those things out loud. She had broken up with Duncan for Tucker, but she didn't know how to tell Tucker that. She was sure he'd react positively; he'd been lightly flirting with her, via lame pick-up lines, ever since the kiss, so she was sure that he was still interested. They were closer than they had ever been before.

She also cared for him more than she'd ever cared for a boy before.

She wasn't ready to tell him anything. She would be soon, she thought, but for now, it was still too confusing to think about.

"Is that it?" Tucker pressed.

"Of course," Jazz lied, resting her head against his shoulder. "I would tell you if there was anything more. He just wasn't the one."

Jazz wondered if Tucker was that one.

_I wanna tell you things_

_I never tell myself_

_These secrets hurt like hell, oh_

"Can I ask you something?"

"You're making me hot chocolate," Tucker pointed out, "You can ask me whatever you like."

Jazz looked over her should to smile at him. "I just didn't want to make it weird by asking."

Tucker quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "Well, ask and we'll find out if it makes things weird."

Jazz shifted the milk saucepan. "I never asked but … Why do you, or did you, at least, like me?"

"It's 'do'," he corrected, wondering if that smile on her face was because of that. "And for a lot of reasons."

"What kind of reasons?"

Tucker tapped the table absently, wondering why she was asking. His imagination was running away with him, thinking that it was because she was showing an interest back. He tried to shut down that slight hope. Jazz had never indicated that she wanted to be anything but a friend. He was determined to respect that.

"Because you're Jazz. I don't need any other reasons."

"Yes, you do!" Jazz insisted, though she was laughing at him. "So, tell me. Why?"

"You're beautiful and you're brilliant. You're there when I need you. I trust you. A lot of other clichés, you know? I don't know how to express it any better. It's because you're Jazz and I think that's amazing." Tucker paused. "And when I heard you snoring and it didn't get on my nerves? That was just more proof for me."

"I do _not_ snore," Jazz sniffed, coming over to the table and placing their mugs on it. She dropped into her chair, crossing her legs across the flat wood.

"A little bit," Tucker joked.

Jazz pouted at him. Then, she returned to the original topic. "When did you decide you liked me? Tell me the truth."

Tucker thought back, years ago, when he first realized that he liked her.

"It wasn't really a decision," he began. "It was one of those things I didn't have any control over."

_The first time that you smiled_

_So shyly back at me_

_I couldn't help myself_

"Do you think Paullina Sanchez is pretty?"

"What?" Tucker stared at his best friend.

"Well, Paullina, you know –"

"I got that part," Tucker interrupted. "But why do you care if Paullina's pretty?"

Danny shrugged. "Other guys are always talking about girls. Why don't we?"

"'Cause the boys you're talking about are way older." Tucker responded. He was eleven. What was he going to do with a girl?

"Not that much older. Like, Jazz's age." Danny's face screwed up at the mention of his sister. "Not that anyone would talk about her. Gross!"

Tucker agreed. Jazz was weird. Sam was weird. Girls, in general, were weird. Not that he didn't like Sam, because they were friends. And Jazz was all right sometimes. Girls, though, were complicated and things involving them seemed to be complicated. Whenever they overheard the older boys, like Dash, talking about girls and girlfriends, it always seemed to be complaints of not understanding what they wanted. If having a girlfriend was all about being confused, Tucker was going to have to say 'no thank you' to getting one. He was confused enough on a regular day. He was cool with just having girls as friends.

"I think I should ask Paullina on a date."

"A date?" Tucker laughed. "What would you do? And she'd say no! She thinks you're a loser."

Danny frowned. "Thanks, Tuck."

"What did I do?" Tucker asked as Danny turned away, storming up the stairs.

He groaned and began to head after his friend. If he couldn't understand his best friend, how was he supposed to understand a girlfriend? Danny was getting ahead of himself with this girl idea; that was for sure.

"Danny's just in a very sensitive place now." As Tucker slid past the living room, Jazz piped up, voice squeaky. "He's about to enter puberty and he's beginning to awaken to new hormones and feelings. I'm sure you'll go through your awakening soon."

Tucker turned to look at her, not sure how to respond. The first thing that came to mind was Danny's word: _gross_. The second thing that came to mind was: _Jazz was much prettier than Paullina._

But thinking Jazz was pretty was dumb, because girls were gross.

_Call me crazy, maybe I'm insanely_

_Out of my mind but it'll never phase me_

_If I have to, I'm not afraid to_

_Save my heart for you_

"So I'm _gross_?" Jazz shrieked.

"Hey!" Tucker cried. "I was eleven!"

"Your 'I like her' thought started and ended with the word 'gross'."

Tucker opened his mouth but nothing came out. He had nothing to defend himself with because it was true.

Jazz rolled her eyes at him, though it was a gesture of affection, not annoyance.

"I was eleven," Tucker repeated. "Hey, my thoughts got better as I got older."

Jazz stared at him. "_That's_gross," she informed him. "I don't need to know that thought."

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter!" Tucker insisted. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure, you didn't," Jazz laughed.

She uncoiled from her chair, collecting their empty mugs from the table, taking them over to the kitchen sink. Maddie liked to keep things organized and Jazz carried on the tradition, rinsing out the mugs and placing them in the sink to be washed more thoroughly later. As she was doing this, she felt Tucker come up behind her.

"I obviously don't think you're gross now," Tucker pointed out.

Jazz turned around and jumped up on the counter. "What if I think you're gross?"

Tucker nearly took a step back as a look of surprise came over his face.

"But I'm not," he answered confidently. "I am 'TF', Too Fine. I am anything but gross."

"You're gross," Jazz sang at him. "Tucker is gross."

"And Jazz is six," Tucker responded in the same sing-song tone.

Jazz shrugged. She then looked at him, really looked at him, and decided that it was time. It was time to let go of all of her inhibitions and really go for what she wanted. And she wanted him.

"Come here," she crooked her finger. "I've got a secret."

"A secret?" Tucker echoed. "Well, this I have to hear."

He leaned forward, expecting her to say something juvenile, ridiculous, and likely insulting to him.

Instead, he heard this:

"I'm going to kiss you in a second."

**One chapter left! The song is **_**Save My Heart**_** by Jason Reeves. Thanks to my betas: Forever Sky.**

**~TLL~**


	3. Chapter 3

He froze as her fingers touched his jawline, turning his head toward her. He felt her lips touch his for the second time, though she had initiated this one. If he had thought kissing her before was magical, nothing felt like this one. He pressed into her, one of her legs on either side of his. Her hands were sliding up and down his back and …

His phone was ringing; the Ghostbusters theme song breaking into their kiss.

"Dammit, Danny," he growled, ripping the phone out of his pocket.

"What?" He asked, throwing it on speaker and dropping the device onto the counter beside Jazz.

"Someone's crabby."

"I'm _busy_," Tucker corrected.

"Whatever. Have you seen my sister?" Danny asked.

"Uh, no," Tucker answered, running his thumb over the outside of Jazz's thigh and she ran her fingers through his hair. "Why?"

"I need you to stop by the house and grab her and ghost hunting gear. Then, I need you to meet Sam and me at the mall."

"What's going on?"

"That ghost? The one that's been hurting people? Well, he's in there and I think this is our chance to get him. Hurry, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be there ASAP."

Neither of them said anything. They didn't have to. There was a job to be done.

They could kiss later.

_I'm a rebel even if it's trouble_

_I'ma pull you out from the rubble_

_If I have to, I'm not afraid to_

_Save my heart for you_

Jazz tiptoed around the lower level of the mall. Sam was on the floor above her, with Danny on the highest level. Tucker was outside, getting codes to the security cameras from a frightened security guard. No one had seen the ghost leave but there was no evidence that it was still inside the mall either.

She had just passed the hat store when she heard a scream. Suddenly, the ghost – in all his angry glory – was just a few feet away from her, a wailing Sam held up in front of him as a shield.

"Sam!" Her brother's voice seemed to ring from all corners of the building.

Jazz was orienting her weapon, wondering if she would have an opportunity to shoot when the ghost took off in the other direction. She couldn't be sure if he had noticed her and so she tried to be as quiet as possible when she took off after it.

Danny was suddenly flying level with her.

"Get out," he commanded. "It's getting too dangerous. Stay with Tucker."

"Okay," Jazz nodded and switched directions, heading for the nearest exit.

She could see the doors when it happened. The building began to rattle and shake. She knew she couldn't possibly make the doors and get outside before the building came down, but she didn't know where else to go. She was in a wide open space. She began to sprint, her winter boots slipping on the tiles. She fell onto her hands and knees, crawling in order to keep going forward.

It wasn't enough.

The walls began to collapse and she couldn't help but scream.

_Tell me I'm wrong_

_Turn around and run_

_Still gonna save my heart for you_

Tucker had heard Sam screaming – he would know that high pitched noise anywhere. He nearly started in the building, when he saw her pop up on the roof. She was near the edge, though the ghost was no longer paying attention to her. Tucker figured that Danny was on the opposite side of the roof. He waited for the upcoming battle to ensue, for Danny to save the day, and for everyone to come out safe and sound. Once that terribly predictable part of the day was over with, he was hoping to sneak away with Jazz and see just where the kiss from earlier was going to take them.

Only, the terribly predictable part of the day took a plot twist.

The ghost disappeared from the roof. Tucker watched Danny appear next to Sam. He watched his friend carry his girlfriend from the roof to stand in front of him.

"Is Jazz not out yet?" Danny asked immediately.

Tucker shook his head. "Should she have been?"

"Yeah. I gotta go back in anyway. Sam, you stay with Tucker."

"Danny –"

"Don't argue. He already grabbed you once and I can't risk –"

Danny was cut off by a loud noise – the sound of the mall beginning to collapse in on itself. There was a suspended moment in time when all the trio could do was stand there and watch the once-tall structure begin to fall apart. As debris began flying, Danny was the first to kick into action: rushing toward the building and to his sister, who was about to become trapped inside.

In his rush, Danny grew careless. A flying piece of lumber came for him and he was too focused on Jazz to notice it. The lumber was able to knock him unconscious, effectively taking out the one person who could get to Jazz the fastest, potentially saving her life.

Sam shrieked as Danny fell. Although, through her terror, she was still a trained ghost hunter. She was able to whip out her thermos and capture the escaping ghost before he had a chance to completely vanish.

The firemen, paramedics, and police who'd gathered at the scene earlier rushed forward – the paramedics toward Danny; the police and fireman to the settling-building, knowing that there was a girl trapped inside. Tucker joined the hoard of firemen, following their lead as they began to systematically move boards and other debris out of the way.

He moved things as quickly as he could, not wanting to think about what kind of shape Jazz could be in. He couldn't afford to think that anything was less than fine. His best friend was unconscious and his mother was in the hospital; he couldn't afford to have Jazz go anywhere.

"I heard something!" One of the fireman shouted, breaking Tucker from his dark thoughts.

"Jazz?" Tucker shouted, running to where the fireman had been standing.

"Tucker?" The voice was weak, so weak, but he could hear her.

"Stand back, kid," the fireman advised.

It killed Tucker to do it, but he took a few steps back and let the professionals do their job. It took an agonizing half an hour until Jazz was able to be safely free. Yet, when she was placed on her feet – cuts along her body and bruises already developing, but otherwise unharmed – he wouldn't have traded a second of that thirty minutes. Trading a second might have meant injuring her and he wouldn't have risked that for a moment.

"Thank God you're okay!" He exclaimed, seizing her in his arms.

She was trembling.

Her mouth sought out his and, as he kissed her, he felt her calm underneath of his palms.

"Disaster strikes and Tucker gets the girl," Sam quipped. "All's well that ends well … At least until Danny wakes up."

_Tell me I'm wrong_

_Turn around and run_

_Still gonna save my heart for you_

_Oh oh_

_Oh oh_

Tucker's world currently consisted of boxes.

There were boxes in the hallway and boxes piled along the walls. There were boxes under his feet and along the countertops. He was sick of seeing the square brown things and would have thrown them all out the window, were it not for two reasons: the Box Ghost and the fact that the majority of these boxes contained important possessions.

Tucker worked his way down the upstairs hallway to the master bedroom, where Jazz was happily unpacking their clothing into the walk-in closet and two dressers.

"Having fun?" He teased.

"Yes," Jazz responded. "Putting things in order and finding proper places for things _is_ fun."

Tucker couldn't bring himself to agree with her. There was nothing fun about moving. There was nothing fun about packing and unpacking. The only perk, as far as he was concerned, was the fact that after years of university and living apart, they were finally moving in together. He was finally going to get to hold her every night.

It sounded like pure heaven.

"You're doubting me," Jazz sighed. "Pull up a box, then, and I'll show you just how much fun it can be!"

"It's only going to be fun if you end up naked," Tucker teased.

"Shush," Jazz scolded him.

Tucker laughed and pried open the top box. On the very top, was something he hadn't seen in many years (six, to be exact): his ancient _Casper High_ sweatshirt. He touched the material, thinking of the night he'd given it to her. He couldn't believe that she'd kept it.

"Where are we putting sweatshirts?" He called to Jazz. She'd left the walk-in with a box of socks in order to put them in one of the dressers.

"Depends on who it belongs to! If it's yours, then it goes on your side at the back. If it's mine, my side at the back!" She returned.

Tucker hung it up on her side.

He stuck his head around the corner of the doorway, spying on Jazz. She spotted him and began grumbling.

"Don't you fold your socks together? How can you live with having a bunch of loose socks? Don't you care if they match? Come on, Tuck!" She admonished. She was expertly picking matching socks out of the boxed mess of socks, folding them together, and placing them neatly in the drawer.

Ordinarily, Tucker couldn't care less about Jazz folding his socks. However, there was something important hiding at the bottom of his socks (don't laugh, okay? He knows every guy hides it in the socks but he couldn't think of anywhere else to keep it, though now he was wishing he'd thought about it more because he knew she was about to find it) that he didn't know if either of them were ready to see. He knew that he would have used it, soon, but after they were settled into the house; after they had gotten used to this new layer, he would have added the next one.

It wasn't time.

But it was upon them.

She had just pulled out _the_ sock with _the_ thing inside of it.

"Seriously? Keeping things in your socks?" Jazz sighed and began to work the object out of the sock, oblivious to Tucker's shell-shocked expression. "Is this some teenage knick-knack?"

"Not quite," Tucker answered, finally come to life. He sprung forward. He knew that he had no hope of getting the ring box from her now, but at least he'd be right there when she realized what it was.

The green ring box burst into her palm. She popped it open and then they both just stood there, staring at it.

"Oh," Jazz finally breathed.

It was a beautiful ring. It was silver, her preferred colour, with one round diamond in the center, though there was a thin ring of diamonds surrounding the main one. On either side of the jewel, there was an almost buckle-like shape. The U was outlined in more jewels. From this shape, the band thinned out, though it still held onto the bling that the rest of the ring had.

"Oh," Jazz repeated. She didn't know what to say. She clearly wasn't supposed to find this and now, she was leaving it up to him to make the next move.

She wondered what he was going to say. She wondered if he was still going to take this opportunity and ask. Did she even want him to ask right now? They were just moving in together. But, she couldn't deny that she'd thought about marrying him. She couldn't say that she'd never thought about wearing a ring he'd bought, putting on a white dress, and then going on to spend the rest of her life with him.

She was hoping he would ask.

Tucker moved behind her, placing his arms around her waist to bring her into a backward hug. He didn't know what he should say. Should he ask? Was it something she wanted? Or would it seem like she had pushed it on him by finding it? Then again, if he closed the ring box up and hid it again, would the reaction be negative?

_Jazz Fenton__, _he thought, _you are absolutely impossible__._

"So," he murmured into her ear. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" Jazz replied.

Tucker nearly rolled his eyes. He brought one arm up so that it was running parallel with hers, his fingers lying the near the ring box. Plucking up a string of courage, he picked up the box and answered her with, "Marrying me, of course."

Then he was down on one knee. This wasn't where he had pictured the scene taking place (though he hadn't really had the faintest idea of where he was going to do it before this had happened). But, if she said yes, then kneeling on the floor of their new house, surrounded by boxes, was absolutely the perfect place for this event to occur.

"Jasmine Fenton, I love you," he grinned, "even if you're a gross girl."

She giggled.

"And I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she laughed.

Tucker slid the ring on her finger. They both took a moment to admire it on her hand before she jumped at him. They both slid to the floor, a tangle of kisses and limbs.

_I want what I can't have_

_I'm gonna make you mine_

"I probably sound like a broken record," Danny began, "threatening you if you hurt my sister –"

"I think I've done quite well these past eight years," Tucker defended himself.

"Well, yeah. Miracle of all miracles, she still likes you."

"Talk about miracles," Tucker chuckled, "Sam is still interested in you."

Danny smirked. "Well, with the baby on the way, she'll have to like me _forever_."

"Trapping your girlfriend?" Tucker joked. "Not cool."

Danny laughed. "Back to my original point. You're getting married today. So, divorce my sister and I really will have to kill you. Which would suck, you being my best friend and all."

Tucker shook his head. "I won't hurt her."

"Now, if she ever decides to leave your sorry ass, Sam and I will let you have the couch for a while, provided you baby sit for free."

"Thanks for the confidence, man."

"No problem," Danny agreed, slapping Tucker's bicep. "I think they're ready for us up at the altar."

Tucker took a deep breath and trailed after his best friend, waiting for the next part of his life to begin.

(-.-)

"I still say a black wedding dress would have been cute," Sam mused, fluffing out the bottom of Jazz's dress.

Jazz had fallen for a tea-length dress. It was made of white lace. Sheer white lace covered up to her collarbone and extended down her arms, though the lace dropped away in the back, exposing her bare skin down to her waist. The dress the fluffed as it transitioned from bodice to skirt, although the lace pattern continued throughout the entirety of the dress.

She looked exquisite in it.

"Well, when you get married, you can wear whatever colour dress you want," Jazz retorted.

"Sam?" Maddie squeaked. "Are you getting married?"

"No!" Sam answered firmly. "Danny's getting me to have a baby, he's not getting me to wear a ring too."

"Oh, please," Jazz rolled her eyes. "You wanted that baby before Danny ever mentioned the idea."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have to know that," Sam laughed.

"Ladies," Maddie called, getting their attention. "We're almost ready. It's time to line up."

Jazz's heart was thudding wildly as she took her place in the wedding procession, Jack coming up next to her.

"You look beautiful, Jazzy-pants."

"Thanks, Dad."

"All grown up … It's hard to believe that you were just a little tyke once who couldn't stand the thought of boys. Those were the days."

Jazz laughed.

"But he makes you happy, though I don't know if any of us saw this relationship coming …"

"Don't worry," Jazz interrupted him, knowing that her father would talk his way down the aisle. "We're going to take good care of each other."

"You better," Jack agreed. "Otherwise, Danny and I are going to have to fight over who gets to kill him."

Jazz would never understand their masculine ideals that lead her father and brother to want to enact violence on her suitors.

But she had no time left to think of it.

She was walking down the aisle. Her friends and family, his friends and family (including Tucker's pastel-clad, in remission, mother) were lined on either side of her, eyes all craned toward her. Jazz didn't so much as glance at the crowd; didn't feel the slightest bit nervous at just how many people were looking at her.

Because all she could see was Tucker.

She doesn't know what started it.

She doesn't know the moment she fell in love with Tucker Foley, though she damn well knew the exact moment she realized she had to have him forever. Now, it's years later and that feeling had only grown, as she was sure it would in the many years to come. It was so easy to be in love with someone like him, when he was not just the love of her life, but her best friend.

Now, all they had left to say 'I do'.

_No matter what it takes_

**Here's the last chapter. Thanks for reading! The song is **_**Save My Heart**_** by Jason Reeves. Thanks to my betas: Forever Sky.**

**~TLL~**


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